Garment.



No. 676,336; Pat'ented lune n, 1901 w. P. maumz.

GARMENT.

(Application filed Hm. 22, 1901.) (lo Modal.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM PENDLETON MCGUIRE, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

GARMENT.

SPECIFIQATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 676,336, dated June 11,1901. Application filed March 22, 1901. I Serial No. 52,367. (No model-J .MCGUIRE, a citizen of the United States, re-

siding at Richmond, in the county of Henrico,

State of Virginia,-have invented new and useful Improvements in Garments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to garments for use mainly in gynecological, obstetrical, and surgical examinations and operations, and has for its primary object to provide a garment adapted'to cover from and including the abdomen to the feet in such manner that any examination of or operation on the abdominal cavity and its organs or the hip or knee or ankle joints or feet may be conducted with a minimum of exposure of the surrounding parts and in some instances,

notably in gynecological examinations, without any exposure whatsoever.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved nether garment capable of being readily adjusted on or removed from the person of a patient reclininginbed without necessitating rising from the recumbent position and which will at the same time when in use present no irregular surfaces or points susceptible of causing bed-sores.

These and certain otherminor objects hereinafter set forth I accomplish in the manner and by the means hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in whic'h Figure 1 is a perspective of my improved garment having a portion thereof removed.

Fig. 2 is a detail view of the apron forming part of said garment. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the garment in its completed condition.

Similar numerals of reference denote corresponding parts in the several views. In the said drawings the reference'numeral 1 denotes one section or leg of the garment, and 2 the other section or leg, the same being provided with feet, as in childrens nightdrawers, and being com pletely separated from each other at front and back and extended upward above the abdomen of the wearer. Each section or leg is cut away at the front along the lines 3 t in such manner that when adj usted'in position on the body of the wearer the cut-away sections combined will form a substantially U-shaped opening completely exposing the abdomen. The waistbands 5 6 of said legs or sections, however, are extended to overlap when on the wearer, so as to provide a point of connection for the upper portion of the sections in front, which is prefer ably made by means of the ordinary safety pin, as shown. In order to provide a connection also for the back of the sections or legs 1 2 at their upper edge-that is to say,

along the waistband-I sew to the waistbands 5 6 tapes 7 and 8 and in the said waistbands provide apertures 9 and 10, as shown, so that when the sections or legs 1 2 are slipped under the small of the back of the patient one waistband at the back will overlap the other, and the tape of the inner waistband, in this instance the tape '7, may then be passed through the aperture 9 of the other waistband, so as to bring the same upon the out side, the two tapes being then brought around the body of the wearer and tied or otherwise united in front, as shown. 1 Suitable loops 11 are preferably provided on the waistbands to retain said tapes in position and to afford additional support for the garment when the wearer is in any but a recumbent position.

In each section or leg. 1 2 I have shown slits or apertures 12 and 13, the former located at the knee and the latter at the ankle, the same affording an opportunity for an examination at those points of the joints without disarranging the garment. It will be understood, however, that I may, if desired,

'make the lower portions of the garment removable at or above the ankle and at or above the knee, so that surgical operations may be performed on these parts without the necessity for removing the whole garment.

Formed entirely separate from the sections or legs 1 2 is a substantially U-shaped apron 14, the same being provided with a top band or binding 15 and a lower transverse stay 16, sewed thereto. full in longitudinal folds at its lower end at 17 and is provided with a series of longitudinal plaits 18 intermediate its length, the same being crossed transversely by tapes 19, adapted to be tied or otherwise fastened together, all for a purpose hereinafter to be described. Said apron is intended to form a detachable Said apron is made very cover or filling-piece for the garment at the p point where the U-shaped opening formed along the lines 3 4 occurs and is made somewhat larger than said opening, being detachably attached to the sections orlegs 1 2, pref-.

.as follows: hen worn in pregnancy, where a digital examination is necessary, the hand of the physician may be inserted beneath the portion 17 of the apron 14, the folds thereof affording ample room for the arm and at the same time completely concealing the parts without impeding in any manner the freedom of movement, it being understood that said apron is composed of some light material, such as linen or muslin. Should a more extended exterior examination be necessary, the two lower pins 24 and may be removed, thus permittingthelower portion of the apron toflb'elfolded upward, thus exposing the body up to'aitransverse line taken through pins 22 23.. -So,flalso, the pins 22 and 23 may be removed, thus'exposing a still greater area, or

i all the pinsb'ut 24 and 25 may be removed and'the-apronfolded downwardly, thus exposing practically the whole abdomen, but without unnecessarily exposing the pubes. In fact, it will be apparent that'by removing one or more of the pins any desired exposure of the abdomen may be had without the slightest unnecessary exposure.

The function of the plaits 1S and the detachable tapes 19 is to provide for cases where there is an abnormal enlargement of the abdomen, such as in pregnancy orin abdominal tumor, said plaits opening to accommodate the enlargement, the tapes 19 being loosely tiedaccordingly, as will be readily understood.

A further advantage obtained by employings'eparate sections or legs 1 and2 is that when an examination or operation on the hipjoint is necessarythe tapes 7 8 may be untied and the upper portion of the proper section or leg drawn down, the two upper pins and pin 26 of the apron letbeingfirst removed, thus completely exposing the hip, and yet not unnecessarily exposing the rest of the body.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A'garment having a cut-away portion over the abdomen, and an apron adapted to overlie said cut-away portion and to be detachably attached thereto, the lower portion of said apron being unattached and fulled to permit its being raised for digital examination without exposing the underlying parts.

2. A garment having a cut-away portion over the abdomen, and an apron adapted to overlie said cut-awayportion and detachably attached thereto, said apron being fulled or plaited to accommodate abnormal enlargement ofthe abdomen.

3. A garment having a cut-away portion over the abdomen, .and an apron adapted to overlie said cut-away portion and detachably attached thereto, said apron being fulled or plaited to accommodate abnormal enlargement of the abdomen, and provided with tapes attached thereto and adapted to be connected, as by tying, across said fulled or plaited portion to confine said fulled or plaited portion.

4. A garment composed of two independent sections or legs extending upward to cover the body to substantially the waist-line, each section covering one vertical half of the body from front to back and having means for detachably connecting them together at the waist-line, said sections each having a cutaway portion which together completely exposes the abdomen, and an apron adapted to overlie and completely cover said cut-away portion and to be detachably attached at a plurality of points to each section, the lower end of said apron being unattached and fulled.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my-hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WVM. PENDLETON MCGUIRE.

Witnesses:

J. JEROME LIGHTFOOT, PERCY 13. HILLS. 

